Life

Swami Sivananda Saraswati

Understand fully the aim and purpose of life. Yield not to temptations. Develop positive qualities like humility, forgiveness, tolerance. Wish eagerly and frequently to attain God-consciousness. Have faith, interest and attention. You are bound to succeed.

Life is a voyage in the infinite ocean of time. Life is a journey from impurity to purity, from hatred to cosmic love, from death to immortality, from imperfection to perfection, from slavery to freedom, from diversity to unity, from ignorance to eternal wisdom, from pain to eternal bliss, from weakness to infinite strength. Life is a great opportunity provided by the Lord for His children to evolve into Himself.

Human life is a process of seeking and self-expression. It is seeking after freedom from bonds, from want and pain. It is a quest for harmony, repose and peace. It is a thirst and a search for happiness. By this very search man expresses his innermost need.

The true goal of life is to return to the source from which we came. Just as the rivers flow restlessly until they join the ocean, the ultimate source of their supply of water, just as fire leaps and burns furiously until it merges in its own origin, so too we would be restless here until we obtain God’s grace and become one with Him.